Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/6): Jorge Continues To Impress

[Seth Stohs]

It was an interesting day in the Twins organization. A lot of things came to a head, and no question there is more fallout to come, at some point. There were several transactions on Friday, and we know more will become official on Saturday. There were also four solid pitching performances. There was a four-hit game, and a surprise four-walk game. And, Byron Buxton homered again!

 

Continue to read all of the transactions, some potential next moves, and the highlights from all four Twins affiliates.TRANSACTIONS

It was another busy day of transactions. It feels like we have started many transactions with that sentence, but Friday was very busy. In the afternoon, the Twins announced the following:

• Ervin Santana was coming of the disabled list. He will start on Saturday.
• John Ryan Murphy was optioned to Rochester.
• Ryan O’Rourke and JR Graham was designated for assignment. To review, this means that they have been removed from the 40-man roster. The other teams will have a chance to claim them. If they go unclaimed, they can be outrighted to Rochester.
• Darin Mastroianni and Juan Centeno were added to the 40-man roster and called up.
• We also learned, from Mike Berardino, that Casey Fien and Tommy Milone were played on irrevocable waivers and those waivers end on Saturday afternoon at which point they will be off of the 40-man roster. I would speculate that Brandon Kintzler and Buddy Boshers are be the most logical call-ups to replace them.

There were also a couple of minor league transactions:

• Catcher Brett Doe went through minor league spring training, but he was released very late in camp. When offered, he accepted a role as the bullpen catcher for the Rochester Red Wings. With Centeno called up to the Twins, the Red Wings needed a catcher and they called out to the bullpen. Doe was added to the Red Wings roster and will - at least temporarily - be their backup catcher.
• Nick Burdi was placed on the Chattanooga disabled list. He is being shut down again, this time with a bone bruise at the bottom of his right humerus. It is on the outside of his pitching elbow. Per Mike Berardino, an MRI showed no damaged other than the bone bruise.
• The Twins signed LHP Nick Greenwood, a 28-year-old who had been 3-0 with the new New Britain franchise which is in the Atlantic League. He had time the last two years with the St. Louis Cardinals, though he spent most of his time at AAA Memphis. He will begin with the Lookouts.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 7 , Pawtucket 5 (10 innings)

Box Score

 

This game didn’t get really interesting until the 8th inning. In the bottom of the inning, Pawtucket scored two to take a 4-1 lead. However, in the top of the 9th frame, the Red Wings scored four runs to take a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the ninth, the PawSox scored a run to send it to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, the Red Wings scored two runs to take a 7-5 lead.

 

Byron Buxton got the Red Wings off on a good note. He led off the game with his second home run. He was 2-5 with a walk as well. Buck Britton went 4-5. Carlos Paulino went 1-3 with two walks. Adam Brett Walker went 0-1 with four walks.

 

Andrew Albers made his second start. The lefty went six innings. He gave up two runs on eight hits and three walks. He struck out five. Alex Wimmers gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Buddy Boshers got the final out of the eighth inning, but he gave up the run in the ninth frame. Marcus Walden got the 10th inning and went 1-2-3 to end the game and record the save.

 

Red Wings manager Mike Quade was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a balk call.

 

Also, after the Red Wings took the lead in the 9th inning, Jorge Polanco was removed from the game. Could it have been ‘for defensive purposes’ that Polanco was replaced by Heiker Meneses in the field? Sure. But with it being likely that Eduardo Escobar will go on the disabled list, it’s more likely that Polanco will make his third trip to the big leagues already this year.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 4, Mobile 3

Box Score

 

Omar Bencomo signed late last year with the Twins and pitched for Ft. Myers. He pitched really well in Venezuela this past winter and returned to the organization. At the end of spring training, he went to extended spring training and waited for an opportunity. With so much activity in the system, the Twins pushed him to Chattanooga. In his second start, he gave up just one run over six innings. He allowed three walks, walked one and struck out five. Jake Reed came on and gave up two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. He walked one and struck one out. JT Chargois got the final five outs. He gave up one hit and a walk but no runs, to record his sixth save. The outing dropped his season ERA to 0.84.

 

Travis Harrison went 2-4 with a walk. Stuart Turner went 2-4. Zach Granite was 2-5 with his 11th and 12th stolen bases. Mitch Garver added his sixth double.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 2, St. Lucie 1

Box Score

 

Old Reliable, Felix Jorge, was on the mound for the Miracle on Friday night. The right-hander improved to 2-2 with a 1.38 ERA on the season with another strong performance. He gave up one run on five hits over seven innings. He walked none and struck out seven. 72 of his 99 pitches were strikes. Yorman Landa came on and struck out three over the final two innings for his second save. He gave up just one hit.

 

Edgar Corcino’s hot streak remained. He went 2-3 with a walk and his second stolen base. The Miracle had just six hits. Kevin Garcia had the only extra-base hit, his first double of the year.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 1, Great Lakes 2

Box Score

 

Sam Clay continued to pitch well, but this time it wasn’t enough to help the Kernels to a win. The lefty gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits in 5.2 innings. He walked three and struck out nine. Miles Nordgren came on and threw 2.1 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out two.

 

JJ Fernandez had a strong game. He went 3-4 including his second home run of the season. Rafael Valera went 2-5.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Ft. Myers Miracle

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – JJ Fernandez, Cedar Rapids Kernels

 

 

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester @ Pawtucket (DH @ 4:05 CST) - RHP David Martinez, LHP Jason Wheeler

Chattanooga @ Mobile (7:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers

St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario

Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (6:05 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games.

 

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[jokin]

Buxton continues his hot May, reaching 3 times in 6 PAs, HR/Single/BB, and best of all, no Ks.  Hitting line in May over 5 games and 23 PAs:

 

.450/.522/850/(1.372)

3 BB/3K

9/20

 

4 more weeks or so worth of something  anywhereclose to this sort of production and K-rate and it would be just about automatic for a call-back.

 

 

[nicksaviking]

I'm going to be disappointed if Polanco is riding pine for the Twins, he has more than earned an extended look with the team.

[Platoon]

I am not sure how "tongue in cheek" the comment was about removing Polanco for defensive purposes was?But any joke has to have substance to be funny, and yet another non defensive SS is not funny! Ugh! One thing is clear, the injury capped off a miserable two weeks for Esco.

[carlito_b]

Thank god Buxton is getting on track. The twins need to start getting the young arms up to the bullpen to see what we have in guys like chargois this season is over. Also Sam clay has had impressive k numbers. If he doesn't work out as a starter he could fast track to the majors .he's been nasty

[diehardtwinsfan]

Buxton continues his hot May, reaching 3 times in 6 PAs, HR/Single/BB, and best of all, no Ks.  Hitting line in May over 5 games and 23 PAs:

 

.450/.522/850/(1.372)

3 BB/3K

9/20

 

4 more weeks or so worth of something  anywhereclose to this sort of production and K-rate and it would be just about automatic for a call-back.

This is really encouraging, though I think it's going to need more than 4 weeks.  I'd rather not repeat the same mistakes we made with Hicks.  Let him sit in AAA for a while.  Let him flat out dominate.  It's not as much about building confidence but giving him the ability to reinforce the good habits he's picking back up right now as well as working on some of the finer points of his game that he wasn't able to do at the ML level. 

[Pitz]

Two things I noticed looking at the Red Wings box score/info. Buxton's homerun was off Joe Kelly (a guy with pretty significant big league experience). Also, Buxton grounded into a double play - I didn't even know that was possible.

[Pitz]

Has Jorge been the best FtM SP?

 

[Mike Sixel]

Has any prospect been promoted within the minors, or just filler guys?

[jokin]

 

Has Jorge been the best FtM SP?

 

He's the lowest-ranked in Twins' prospect terms among the "Big Five" Miracle SPs. Jay, Stewart and Gonsalves are the high ceiling guys who have- or will soon- dot various MLB Top 100 lists.

 

But, Jorge currently does have the best ERA/FIP of the bunch, so far (1.38/2.30- good for 2nd best in the FSL to Top 100 Rays' prospect, Brent Honeywell) and is far superior to his peers in K/BB% ratio (20.5%- which is also 2nd best overall in the FSL- with Honeywell also rated #1). 

 

It really appears that the friendly SP competition in Ft Myers is constantly challenging these guys to aspiring to better and more better performances. A very bright spot in an organization that currently needs all the good news it can get.

[jokin]

 

This is really encouraging, though I think it's going to need more than 4 weeks.  I'd rather not repeat the same mistakes we made with Hicks.  Let him sit in AAA for a while.  Let him flat out dominate.  It's not as much about building confidence but giving him the ability to reinforce the good habits he's picking back up right now as well as working on some of the finer points of his game that he wasn't able to do at the ML level. 

 

If he continues to bat .450/1.372 OPS with equal 13% K/BB rates over Five Weeks, I'd say he's flat out dominating and has successfully reinforced good habits into his approach at the plate.

 

I do agree though, he needs to use his time in AAA to develop more of a situational attitude in his At Bats that can best utilize his speed and overall hit tool-

 

-shortening his swing when appropriate to assure more contact- which leads to more leg hits,

-more willingness to work the count for walks and better pitches to swing at in more favorable counts,

-bunting,

-hitting the outside pitch, especially with 2 strikes, to right.

Edited May 7, 2016 by jokin

[HitInAPinch]

"Byron Buxton got the Red Wings off on a good note. He led off the game with his second home run"

 

Jeez, Seth.  I know you really like Buxton, but this is overboard   

 

There was a reason management brought up Mastroianni and Buxton is it.  Show me more walks.

 

Still a little surprised by the O’Rourke demotion.  I thought he did pretty good.

I have no idea what the Twins are doing with Polanco.  The injuries are piling up, so he may actually get a chance this time.

"Casey Fien and Tommy Milone were played on irrevocable waivers and those waivers end on Saturday afternoon at which point they will be off of the 40-man roster." 

Happy all the way down to my shorts!  

[Lee-The-Twins-Fan]

Murphy for Centeno I understand. Bringing back Santana was a given. It's the Mastroianni move that I question. Why bring up any outfielder who's hitting .208 in AAA? Byron Buxton has turned things around at AAA and is hitting .313. He was already on the 40-man roster. OF Adam Walker is hitting .240 with 4 hrs and is also on the 40-man. OF Daniel Palka is at AA, and is hitting .308 with 4 hrs and a .408 OBP (he's not on the roster). The Twins clearly had other options, yet they chose to add a poor-hitting OF. I just don't get it. They could have kept Graham or O'Rourke and sent one of them to AAA. They're sacrificing one potentially good pitcher for a mediocre OF, someone who's never been a good OF. Replacing mediocrity with mediocrity. I just don't get it.

[jokin]

 

Murphy for Centeno I understand. Bringing back Santana was a given. It's the Mastroianni move that I question. Why bring up any outfielder who's hitting .208 in AAA? Byron Buxton has turned things around at AAA and is hitting .313. He was already on the 40-man roster. OF Adam Walker is hitting .240 with 4 hrs and is also on the 40-man. OF Daniel Palka is at AA, and is hitting .308 with 4 hrs and a .408 OBP (he's not on the roster). The Twins clearly had other options, yet they chose to add a poor-hitting OF. I just don't get it. They could have kept Graham or O'Rourke and sent one of them to AAA. They're sacrificing one potentially good pitcher for a mediocre OF, someone who's never been a good OF. Replacing mediocrity with mediocrity. I just don't get it.

 

Hopefully, and I think likely, the Mastro move is very short-term, and the need for the move has just been exacerbated by Escobar's injury, as D Santana might have to fill in infrequently in the IF. Another good thing about the move is that unlike the other potential call-ups, Mastro doesn't have to play consistently, let alone start. The Twins current OF alignment is challenged defensively (to say the least). If they actually someday soon are leading late in a game, they can sub Mastro into the game in CF. If they're tied or down one, they can PR him.

 

But the best good thing about the move is that when they need a roster space and as Kepler and Buxton become more ready for MLB, they won't have to think twice about DFA'ing him.

[Seth Stohs]

Has Jorge been the best FtM SP?

 

I had Gonsalves, Jorge and Stewart 1, 2, 3 in April. Any order is fine.

[Seth Stohs]

Murphy for Centeno I understand. Bringing back Santana was a given. It's the Mastroianni move that I question. Why bring up any outfielder who's hitting .208 in AAA? Byron Buxton has turned things around at AAA and is hitting .313. He was already on the 40-man roster. OF Adam Walker is hitting .240 with 4 hrs and is also on the 40-man. OF Daniel Palka is at AA, and is hitting .308 with 4 hrs and a .408 OBP (he's not on the roster). The Twins clearly had other options, yet they chose to add a poor-hitting OF. I just don't get it. They could have kept Graham or O'Rourke and sent one of them to AAA. They're sacrificing one potentially good pitcher for a mediocre OF, someone who's never been a good OF. Replacing mediocrity with mediocrity. I just don't get it.

 

Because a team doesnt want to rush prospects and put them in a bad spot. Buxton and Kepler and Walker need time, at bats. Maestro can sit, or play. He can play all three spots, including being a center fielder.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Maestro is a warm body.  He maybe starts once a week and is used as a defensive replacement/pinch runner.  To be fair, that's all Rosario is worth at the moment.  Eddie needs at bats, and it's far better for him and the Twins for him to get those at bats in AAA while Maestro effectively does the same job. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

If he continues to bat .450/1.372 OPS with equal 13% K/BB rates over Five Weeks, I'd say he's flat out dominating and has successfully reinforced good habits into his approach at the plate.

 

I do agree though, he needs to use his time in AAA to develop more of a situational attitude in his At Bats that can best utilize his speed and overall hit tool-

 

-shortening his swing when appropriate to assure more contact- which leads to more leg hits,

-more willingness to work the count for walks and better pitches to swing at in more favorable counts,

-bunting,

-hitting the outside pitch, especially with 2 strikes, to right.

 

Yes, I'd agree that's dominating.  I wasn't implying otherwise.  I do think, however, that one week is too small a sample size and that 5 weeks (even if he continues at that pace) is not enough time.  He struggles to hit ML curve balls, and that won't be fixed in 5 weeks, and his ML approach was nothing short of awful.  He'll get some ML quality pitches in AAA from time to time, which is good, and I know MLB is really where he's going to learn it, but for now, I think he's best served by reinforcing the plate approach that made him a top prospect to begin with.

[Oldgoat_MN]

And on another note.....

 

Berrios pitched last Monday. Saturday would be his day to start if he was on a regular schedule. Instead Santana is pitching today (Saturday) with Duffey scheduled tomorrow.

 

Are we throwing the pitching patterns off for Berrios because it worked so well for Meyer?

 

[wickedslider]

 

"Byron Buxton got the Red Wings off on a good note. He led off the game with his second home run"

 

Jeez, Seth.  I know you really like Buxton, but this is overboard   

 

There was a reason management brought up Mastroianni and Buxton is it.  Show me more walks.

 

Still a little surprised by the O’Rourke demotion.  I thought he did pretty good.

I have no idea what the Twins are doing with Polanco.  The injuries are piling up, so he may actually get a chance this time.

"Casey Fien and Tommy Milone were played on irrevocable waivers and those waivers end on Saturday afternoon at which point they will be off of the 40-man roster." 

Happy all the way down to my shorts!  

I was also surprised at the O'Rourke DFA. His stats seemed to show that he had the characteristics of a LOOGY. I'd have thought he was worth a prospect at least in a trade. Perhaps there is something we don't know?